Jewelry in a treasure hoard found in Thetford Forest, East Anglia, indicates that Thetford was pagan until the 5th century CE — significantly later than the previously established date of the 380-90s CE.
Rings from the Thetford hoard on display at the British Museum. Image credit: Geni / CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Thetford treasure was found by a metal detectorist trespassing on a construction site at Fison’s Way on Gallows Hill, Thetford in 1979.
The treasure consisted of 81 objects, including 22 gold finger-rings, other gold jewelry, and 36 silver spoons or strainers.
A shale box contained some jewelry, with the other objects found close to it.
No coins were present among the recovered objects, presenting a dating problem for its researchers.
The hoard is now in the collections of the British Museum and can be seen on display there.
“There is compelling evidence that the treasure was buried in the 5th century CE rather than the late 4th CE,” said Professor Ellen Swift, an archaeologist at the University of Kent.
“Since wider evidence found at the site confirms the religious context previously established by inscriptions on the spoons within the hoard, this means, remarkably, that the re-dating of the Thetford hoard suggests a pagan cult center survived there into the 5th century CE.”
“The site’s economic assets, indicated by the value and variety of the hoard, also show that it may have wielded significant power and authority locally.”
This new chronology is supported by detailed comparisons of multiple objects (both spoons and jewelry) with context-dated finds from continental Europe, and with objects from the 5th century Hoxne hoard in the British Museum, which was found more recently than the Thetford hoard and contains many similar items.
Professor Swift also found that Britain was less isolated than previously believed, with the items in the treasure originating from across the Roman Empire.
“The Thetford jewelry especially is highly varied in style, suggesting the different pieces originated in different places,” Professor Swift said.
“Some of the latest-dating finger-rings in the hoard likely originated in northern Italy or adjacent regions, and the necklace with conical beads from the Balkans area of Europe.”
“Most of the jewelry is generically ‘Mediterranean Roman’ in style illustrating a geographically widespread shared culture among elites.”
The paper was published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.
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Ellen Swift. 2024. Rethinking the date and interpretation of the Thetford treasure: a 5th-c. hoard of gold jewelry and silver spoons. Journal of Roman Archaeology 37 (2): 409-448; doi: 10.1017/S1047759424000278
